Oracle employees call on Larry Ellison to cancel Trump fundraiser

Larry Ellison, co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle Corp., speaks in San Francisco in 2018.

Upset Oracle Corp. employees are calling on Larry Ellison to cancel an upcoming fundraiser he’s hosting for President Donald Trump.

“We are disappointed that Oracle founder and CTO Larry Ellison’s support of Donald Trump does not affirm Oracle’s core values of diversity, inclusiveness, and ethical business conduct,” a group calling itself “Oracle Employees for Ethics” said in an online petition
, which has accumulated more than 2,500 signatures as of Tuesday night.

In the petition, the employees said Ellison’s support hurts Oracle’s brand and staff morale, and misrepresents the company’s “diverse views.”

Ellison’s financial support “endangers the well-being of women, immigrants, communities of color, the environment, LGBTQ and trans communities, disabled people, and workers everywhere,” they said, and “his alliance with this ignoble and destructive figure damages our company culture as well as our relationships with partners and customers.”

The fundraiser is one of the biggest shows of support for Trump yet from Silicon Valley, and comes about two weeks ahead of the March 3 “Super Tuesday” primaries in California and 13 other states, as well as American Samoa.

Last week, the Desert Sun reported that while the billionaire Ellison has donated about $9.5 million to political causes since 1993, he has never donated to Trump’s campaign, at least as of the end of 2019.

Oracle shares
(NYS:ORCL)
are up 4.6% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s
(S&P:SPX)
4.3% gain.

Intraday Data provided by FACTSET and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by FACTSET. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.